Calls for ban on defence counsel leaks to media (Aftenposten)

The Director General of Public Prosecutions wants to prevent defence attorneys from leaking information to the media. "Information is passing from defence attorneys to the media; information which the media should not have," says Deputy Director General of Public Prosecutions Hans-Petter Jahre. Information contained in documents relating to criminal trials is rarely covered by the rules of professional secrecy, so defence attorneys are not usually doing anything illegal when they talk to the media. "This is a gap in the legislation which should be plugged," says Mr Jahre. A number of defence attorneys have reacted sharply to the proposal.

No guarantees on nursery fee cuts (Verdens Gang)

According to the results of a telephone survey VG has carried out of 72 local authorities, the majority of them will not guarantee that they will be cutting the cost of nursery care. Children and Family Affairs Minister Karita Bekkemellem Orheim has earmarked NOK 240 million in state subsidies so that local authorities can cut nursery fees, and is planning to force them to use the money solely for that purpose. She is calling on parents to put pressure on their local politicians.

Rebels unite (Nationen)

The rebels are uniting. The two regional protest movements in the north, the Nordland Rebellion and the Popular Rebellion in Finnmark, have joined forces with another protest group, Defend the Welfare State. The aim is to mobilize organizations and private individuals in a united front to promote grassroots democracy. The rebels are tired of having too little money and too little influence with the people in power. Levangen in Troms county is probably tired of it too. This local authority is so badly off they have to borrow money from the bank in order to pay their wages bill.

Scientists claim Norway is dragging its feet over climate change (Aftenposten)

Norway’s attitude to the Kyoto climate change treaty is not much better than the USA’s, according to two of the authors of the UN’s climate change report to be published on Monday. Professor Ivar Sigmund Angell Isaksen and Gunnar Myhre, a scientist at the University of Oslo, accuse Norway of dragging its feet over climate change. "While the EU has been pushing for the implementation of the Kyoto protocol, Norway has had a wait-and-see attitude," said professor Isaksen.

Norway benefits from USA’s no to Kyoto (Vårt Land)

The USA’s unwillingness to back international efforts to slow down global warming are saving Norway billions of kroner. The environment is the loser when the USA says no to the Kyoto climate change treaty, but the Norwegian economy is the winner. The Ministry of Finance has calculated that Norway will save over NOK 7 billion because of the US rejection of Kyoto. The high cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions on the mainland will make Norway a net purchaser of emission quotas. We will therefore benefit from the lower quota prices which will result from the USA’s remaining outside the agreement. Just as important for the Norwegian economy is the fact that a climate change treaty will affect oil and gas prices.

Statoil led stock market fall (Dagens Næringsliv)

The Oslo Stock Exchange suffered from the effects of a fall in Statoil’s share price, which is now trading at under the flotation price of NOK 69. Statoil shares worth over NOK 2.3 billion changed hands, with the price ending the day 2.9 per cent down at NOK 67. Bjørn Tore Urdal, a financial analyst with Handelsbanken Investment Banking, says the fall was mainly due to a drop in oil prices.

Stock brokers see profits slashed (Dagens Næringsliv)

Norwegian stock brokers had a bumper year in 2000. This year they face a dramatic fall in profits. AGB Sundal Collier’s operating profit was slashed by almost 80 per cent in the first quarter. Despite the industry’s failing profits and mass layoffs among foreign stock broking companies, no one expects hordes of Norwegian stock brokers to lose their jobs.

Worth Noting

• The Norwegian state will be NOK 911 million richer when IT Fornebu today finalizes the purchase of a vacant lot on the site of the former Fornebu airport, just outside of Oslo. This is the last major land sale at Fornebu, and puts the total real estate value of the former airport at around NOK 5 billion. (Verdens Gang)
• The Norwegian Red Cross made a loss of NOK 44 million in 2000. This is more than NOK 170 million down on 1999, but the organization is not dissatisfied with its results – just the size of the grants it receives from the Foreign Ministry. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) has said Norwegian legislation regulating hydro-electric power production is in breach of the EEA Agreement. The ESA also criticized Norway for discriminating against foreign tourists who wish to fish in Norwegian rivers and lakes. (Aftenposten)
• On Thursday Norway signed an agreement with Europol, the EU’s law enforcement body, allowing Norwegian police to exchange information with their counterparts in EU countries. The agreement is part of the battle against organized crime. (NTB)
• A special police unit is to be set up in Norway to combat the smuggling of narcotics and alcohol, as well as other organized crime. The Storting has given the go-ahead for 30 police officers to be seconded to the project. Next year the new unit will have a budget of NOK 50 million. (Aftenposten)
• The Oslo housing market is overflowing in the summer heat, and buyers have a good chance of getting a bargain. "Half of the apartments for sale in Oslo today are sold for under the asking price," says Peter Batta, president of the Norwegian Houseowners’ Association. (Dagbladet)
• All whales exported from Norway will be recorded in a DNA register. The system is not yet completed, and whale exports will not get underway until the autumn. (NTB)
• Sales by Systembolaget, the Swedish state-owned wine and spirits retail monopoly, to Norwegian customers have exploded. In May Norwegians spent a whopping 33 per cent more at the Swedish Systembolaget than they did in the same month last year. (Verdens Gang)

Today’s comment from Verdens Gang

The new regime in Belgrade was last night applauded by the whole world after it handed over ex-president Slobodan Milosevic to the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague. The applause was well deserved, even though the Yugoslav government had acted only after the international community, led by the USA, had held a knife to its throat. However, notwithstanding the praise heaped on it internationally, it was a bold move by the Belgrade government, and would have been a political impossibility just a month ago. The army is still a force to be reckoned with in Yugoslavia, and powerful military elements are opposed to any extradition of politicians and officers accused of war crimes. But the new government in Belgrade has obviously managed to turn public opinion.